New York University

Date: Feb 06 2009
Major: History/Histories (art history/etc.) (This Major's Salary over time)
I agree that the city gets old after 6 months, and the chance to make good friends is slim (see the previous posts).

I actually dropped out after my first semester at Gallatin. Gallatin is the

individualized major

school. At the time (2000), it was undergoing renovations and the program didn't seem too mature yet. As with most of the majors here, I didn't see many practical skills being taught. You'll spend most of your time writing stupid creative pieces or analyzing literature (and how does that get you a job exactly?). I was able to plagiarize a lot of my papers and no one even noticed (just try this in a CA school and see what happens)

Also, be aware that they spend most of their funding on Grad students! Your financial aid package will suck. Mine was mostly loans, and my folks only made $40k a yr combined. So ultimately, I had to leave.

The outside opportunities to intern in the city are pretty good, but if you ever want to move to another town (i.e. a suburb or to the West), your skills/experience probably won't pull weight anymore. The industries in NYC are very different from those found elsewhere, and companies tend to hire locally-educated employees. Also your network and references will be based on the East coast. That's not going to help you if you move after graduation.

It's best to choose an undergrad college that focuses on undergrads. Like one that doesn't pack in 200 students per lecture hall. Look for one with a small student to faculty ratio (should be listed in Princeton Review books)